Individual Against Society in a Doll’s House and Porphyria’s Lover

Browning’s dramatic monologues Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess critique Victorian society’s restrictive patriarchal values which suppressed a female’s endeavors for individualism. Meanwhile, Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House condemns the pretense of an idealistic marriage within a social hierarchy through his female protagonist, Nora. Both composers ultimately demonstrate the implications of their characters’ attempts to subvert society’s expectations.

Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue, Porphyria’s Lover, challenges Victorian society’s dominant patriarchal values by critiquing society’s tendency to undermine the role of women. The 1800s in England saw a period of misogynistic values imposed upon women, resulting in the stifling of their autonomy. However, Browning subverts these gender stereotypes through his portrayal of Porphyria, who transgresses social conventions when she visits her lover at night. The pathetic fallacy of ‘The rain set early in to-night/The sullen wind was soon awake’ establishes the persona’s unstable state of mind and foreshadows the consequences of Porphyria’s independence. Furthermore, having “laid her soil’d gloves by” and “let the damp hair fall”, Browning characterizes Porphyria as a ‘fallen woman’ who was condemned by Victorian society for being unchaste. Browning asserts Porphyria’s self-determination through the use of polysyndeton in “And made her smooth white shoulder bare…And spread, o’er all, her yellow hair”, evoking a sensual atmosphere, which challenges Victorian constraints on women’s behavior. However, the repetition in “that moment she was mine, mine fair” demonstrates a role reversal, which epitomizes her lover’s objectification of Victorian women and his possessiveness. The consequences of female independence are revealed in “yellow string I wound…And strangled her”, where Porphyria’s hair, initially a symbol of her femininity, eventually silences her, exaggerating the oppression of Victorian women under patriarchal control. Browning ultimately employs the religious allusion, “And yet God has not said a word!” to ironically underline the acceptability of her lover’s actions, unlike Porphyria’s sexual autonomy which was condemned by the patriarchal society. Thus, Browning condemns the suppression of women’s sexuality in Victorian England through examining Porphyria’s unconventional conduct.

Meanwhile, Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House transgresses Victorian expectations of bourgeois women’s subservience towards their husbands through Nora’s failure to adhere to her ascribed domestic role. The male domination that restrained a female’s self-determination is established in Torvald’s patronizing animal imagery, “my little lark…squirrel”, reflecting the preconceived inferiority of Victorian women. This is reinforced in Ibsen’s stage direction of Nora “playing with buttons, not looking at him”, where her childish frivolity reflects her subservient role in her relationship, and demonstrates the patriarchal dominance of late 19th century society. Furthermore, Torvald’s condescending language towards Nora, “Just like a woman!...you know what I think about that. No debt! No borrowing!” exemplifies society’s presumption of a woman’s fiscal irresponsibility. The assumed dependence of women in this era is further epitomized in Nora’s friend Mrs Linde’s generalization, “A wife can’t borrow without her husband’s permission”. Yet Nora transcends social expectations by “working and earning money. Almost like a man” to repay the loan, the simile signifying her subversion of traditional gender roles, which mirrors Porphyria in Browning’s poem. The frenetic tarantella dance along with Ibsen’s stage directions “[Nora’s] hair falls…she pays no attention” symbolize growing independence and reflects her desire to liberate herself from societal expectations. Thus, Ibsen condemns the suppression of female conduct and emphasizes the need to overcome restrictive patriarchal values within society.

Browning’s dramatic monologue My Last Duchess also critiques society’s constraints by examining the consequences of a female individual’s subversion of social pretenses and hierarchy. The Married Woman’s Property Act in 1882 allowed women to retain their belongings after divorce, subsequently exposing the fa?ade of marriage as women abandoned their marital duties. The diminished importance of women is established through the personal pronoun “my last duchess painted on the wall”, where the artwork symbolizes the Duke’s objectification of his late wife, undermining her existence to mere aesthetics. Through the parenthetical aside, “(since none puts by/The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)”, Browning exemplifies the Duke’s excessive hubris towards his envoy when presenting his deceased wife as an object to validate his social status. The Duke’s disapproval of his wife’s metaphorical “spot of joy…too soon made glad, Too easily impressed” epitomizes his patriarchal condemnation of her inherent geniality, which breaches the class boundaries Victorian women were expected to embody. Furthermore, Browning delineates the Duchess’ undermining of the Duke’s social position through the symbolism in “She liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere”, with the negative connotations foreshadowing her downfall. The truncated sentences, “This grew; I gave commands” reflects the Duke’s autocratic behavior, and alludes to the dire consequences of the Duchess’ failure to fulfill her role within the social hierarchy. Browning concludes the monologue with a mythical allusion, “Notice Neptune, though,/Taming a sea-horse”, where the Roman god’s dominance over a fragile creature foreshadows the Duke’s authority over his next wife. Therefore, Browning condemns the suppression of women in a class-conscious society through the repercussions of the Duchess’ unorthodox behavior, and encourages greater female autonomy.

However, unlike the submission of the Duchess in Browning’s dramatic monologue, Ibsen denounces the pretense of marriage within social hierarchy which suppresses autonomy and advocates for a woman’s subversion of her domestic duties to strengthen her identity. While Nora’s costuming as a “little Capri fishergirl” represents youth and sensuality, conventional for 19th century women, the stage direction of “dancing more and more wildly” symbolizes her desire for liberation from her marriage facade. Nora’s stage directions as she secretively “puts the macaroons in her pocket and wipes her mouth” demonstrates her forbidden consumption of sweets which signifies her wish for independence within a restrictive marriage. Furthermore, Nora realizes the pretense of her marriage, epitomized in the symbolic “Changing. No more fancy dress”, where the clothing motif reveals the subversion of social expectations leading to her empowerment, unlike the Duchess who fails to liberate herself from societal confinements. Nora’s epiphany that “I’m your dolly-wife, just as I used to be Daddy’s dolly baby” exemplifies her recognition of social hierarchy that objectifies the female individual and restricts her autonomy. Nora ultimately abandons her maternal and marital duties through her use of personal pronouns, “I think that first I’m a human being, just like you” which delineates her self-determination to strengthen her female identity. The final slamming of the door symbolizes Nora’s emancipation from domestic duties in her confining marriage. Therefore, Ibsen challenges the societal restrictions enforced on females through Nora’s individualistic pursuit of her ideals.

Both Browning and Ibsen expose the consequences of their characters’ individualistic attempts to subvert social expectations. While Browning shocks his audience with the unpredictable consequences of his female individuals in their intentions to transgress female propriety and ascribed domestic roles, Ibsen reveals the empowerment that women obtain after abandoning social mores.